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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28649253">now that door is closed</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/yude_londa/pseuds/yude_londa'>yude_londa</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>it will come right back to you [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>ATEEZ (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, Angst, Bodyguard Song Mingi, Childhood Friends, M/M, Modern Royalty, Pining, Prince Jeong Yunho, actually no proofreading either, no beta we die like men</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 13:35:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,750</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28649253</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/yude_londa/pseuds/yude_londa</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Yunho wanted to scream. At Mingi, at himself. </p>
<p>But mostly at the ones who took his sweet and silly best friend and molded him into this cold sharp man. Whoever it was that taught Mingi to submit, to follow, to say nothing but ‘Yes, your highness’, Yunho wanted to ruin them.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jeong Yunho/Song Mingi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>it will come right back to you [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2104728</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>148</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>now that door is closed</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I will be the first to admit that I'm not a writer. My English isn't perfect and I much prefer drawing.</p>
<p>This here was just me trying to put together a little backstory for an AU that hit me out of nowhere.</p>
<p>Still, I hope you enjoy reading!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Your highness, wear your robes,” were the first words that greeted Yunho when he got out of the shower.</p>
<p>He expected no company that night, except perhaps for the patrols that roamed his halls.</p>
<p>Still, his Royal guard stood before him, ever so attentive and immovable, in a three-piece suit that was far more flexible than it looked and hid a layer of Kevlar underneath. Yunho had seen Mingi beat a small gang into submission in it once. </p>
<p>It was a jarring contrast to the silk robe he had in his hands.</p>
<p>For one indignant moment, Yunho considered refusing. He was doing just fine with only a towel wrapped around his waist. The Royal palace kept all their rooms at the perfect temperature, always.</p>
<p>Mingi didn’t budge though, and Yunho remembered how his mother chewed out his guard after he caught a cold, just before sending him away for a month of retraining. As if the man could have controlled the weather when Yunho was giving a public speech outside.</p>
<p>He could control the unruly heir, Yunho supposed.</p>
<p>Begrudgingly, the prince threw on the robe, not bothering to wrap it all the way. This time, Mingi stepped aside and let him move around his bedroom.</p>
<p>It was a tiring day full of interviews and ribbon-cutting and smiling until his cheeks grew numb, and any other time Yunho would have fallen headfirst into the bed and slept like the dead, unexpected guests be damned.</p>
<p>But seeing Mingi after what felt like forever gave Yunho a boost of energy he wasn’t sure what to do with. </p>
<p>Years ago, he could have duked it out with Mingi on the soft Persian rugs of his room, grappling like puppies. Yunho could have demanded to know what moves those specialists were teaching Mingi and get a firsthand demonstration followed by relentless teasing. </p>
<p>But it had been years since Mingi touched him with any other intent than to guard. </p>
<p>Yunho knew better than to ask for that now.</p>
<p>Instead, he asked Mingi to get him a drinking glass and opened the hidden cellar in his room, right by his bed. Anyone other than Mingi would have oohed and aahed at his impressive collection. </p>
<p>But the cellar was built with Mingi in mind and shared with him first on the day of their graduation, so all that Yunho got for his troubles was a judgemental look. Perhaps a concerned one, if Yunho was feeling generous.</p>
<p>Ignoring it, the prince poured himself a generous glass of bourbon and didn’t bother offering Mingi one. His guard prioritized his duty above all else, he knew.</p>
<p>“Your highness, you’re fully booked tomorrow.”</p>
<p>Yunho wondered, not for the first time, if he could ban certain words from his kingdom.</p>
<p>“I’ll have just this one glass, relax,” he replied and made himself comfortable on the couch before the TV. </p>
<p>Mingi didn’t protest that, but he did put away the bottle, denying Yunho any further drinking. Then he came to a stop a little behind his prince, at the perfect place for a guard, and resumed his watch.</p>
<p>From experience with day-long parades, Yunho knew that Mingi could stay standing still for hours. From stories of Mingi’s navy days, Yunho heard that he could do it while weathering a storm and running on nothing but energy bars.</p>
<p>Song Mingi the perfect Royal guard and soldier, the pride and joy of the Song family that served the crown faithfully for eight generations. </p>
<p>The thought pissed him off.</p>
<p>“Stop hovering like a scarecrow and sit,” snapped Yunho.</p>
<p>Mingi didn’t startle at the sudden raised voice, though it was a close thing. The man just furrowed his brow and opened his mouth to argue. But before he could voice his protests, Yunho shut him down.</p>
<p>“That’s an order.”</p>
<p>Mingi’s mouth closed with an audible click. </p>
<p>For just a moment, Mingi and Yunho stared at each other and held their breaths in the wake of what the prince did. </p>
<p>Then Mingi nodded in a perfect show of submission and assumed his position once more, this time seated on the floor before the couch, legs crossed and hands on his knees. Every move looked smooth and practiced, as if nothing wrong had happened just then. </p>
<p>Mingi was now close enough to touch and yet still impossibly distant, perhaps even more so than before.</p>
<p>Yunho wanted to scream. At Mingi, at himself. </p>
<p>But mostly at the ones who took his sweet and silly best friend and molded him into this cold sharp man. Whoever it was that taught Mingi to submit, to follow, to say nothing but ‘Yes, your highness’, Yunho wanted to ruin them.</p>
<p>Sipping slowly from his glass to detach himself from his violent fantasies, Yunho started flipping through the TV channels. Eventually, he settled on a mindless drama series that was all the rage lately.</p>
<p>The plot was somewhat engaging, and usually, Yunho could have easily lost himself in the story of a high school girl who woke up as an ancient princess, laughing at the inaccuracy of it all and cheering for the childhood friend as a romantic interest.</p>
<p>But Mingi in his direct line of sight, as always, ensnared him.</p>
<p>It had been easy, in a way, to ignore Mingi when he was at his normal position, trailing behind him like an overprotective shadow. Over the painful and awkward months after their reunion, Yunho learned to treat Mingi the way he wanted to be treated. Like a human shield and an occasional helping hand.</p>
<p>He could almost say that it didn’t really hurt anymore.</p>
<p>But this was Yunho exhausted and unprepared, seeing Mingi move around his room with the ease of someone who was familiar with the place, watching him sit down obediently and fold that intimidating height of his in two. </p>
<p>The night could be called a sleepover, if Yunho pretended that Mingi was wearing soft pajamas instead of a smart suit, that his hair was messy and wavy and not slicked back to perfection. Yunho ached with the imagery.</p>
<p>He wanted so badly that he couldn’t even laugh it off as a joke anymore. His silly puppy, his other pillar, Yunho wanted him back. It felt like nothing in his life mattered more than that.</p>
<p>Eyeing Mingi who was surveying the room from the floor and didn’t put his guard up against the prince at his back, Yunho slid his leg underneath Mingi’s arm and dug his heel into his lap. Impulsive but decisive.</p>
<p>The cords of muscles that jumped beneath his feet were, to the surprise of no one, as firm as steel. They had several Twitter accounts dedicated solely to them. Accounts that Yunho scrolled through on his private when he was feeling particularly dumb. If Yunho remembered correctly, Mingi was fifth on the list of eligible bachelors of his kingdom. The appeal of the Royal guard being both unfairly pretty and terrifyingly competent, he supposed.</p>
<p>Yunho kneaded Mingi’s thighs with his toes, imagining covering them in teeth marks and bruises. This too was something he wanted, right from the day he called Mingi a princess when he was whining about exams and meant it half as a joke and half as a future proposal.</p>
<p>“Your highness, please.”</p>
<p>Mingi sounded polite, unfailingly so, and he made no move to contradict the prince. Yunho dug his heel harder in response. He hated the word ‘highness’ in Mingi’s serious voice so, so much.</p>
<p>“Call me hyung and I’ll stop.” </p>
<p>A brazen order, a childish joke. But one that Yunho wanted fulfilled the most in the world.</p>
<p>“That’s improper.” </p>
<p>Truly, only Mingi could keep breaking his heart so respectfully and yet so cruelly. </p>
<p>Yunho chuckled, downed the rest of his bourbon in one breath, and threw away the glass. It didn’t break, if only because the rug was too soft for that.</p>
<p>The prince briefly considered picking up the glass and shattering it to pieces to vent. But Mingi’s lap was warm and Yunho didn’t think he’d get another chance to touch his guard like this. He ended up settling back on the couch, and closing his eyes; the neck crick he’d get in the morning be damned.</p>
<p>“Contend as my foot-warmer then.”</p>
<p>There was silence, broken only by the sound of the TV. It sounded like the main character’s childhood friend was about to be punished by the king for his insolence.</p>
<p>It was followed by a rustle, a slight movement from his guard. The sound of the TV suddenly got quieter and then there were gun-calloused fingers on his foot, massaging it.</p>
<p>“If you were cold, you should have said so.”</p>
<p>Yunho wondered if it was possible to love someone so much yet still want to strangle them. Ignoring the sudden wetness behind his eyelids, Yunho let Mingi’s gentle touch and warm presence lull him into sleep.</p>
<p>The prince was exhausted enough that he didn’t wake up when his guard settled his errant leg on the couch and then stood up to dim the lights. Mingi watched, still and rooted, as the kingdom’s most valued person remained soft and vulnerable in his sleep.</p>
<p>Here was the man for whom he’d lay down his life for. Sacred bones, sun-blessed smile, and a kind heart. Born and bred to rule, to be adored and envied by millions. Their beloved prince first, and then, perhaps, his dear—</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hyung.” <br/><br/></p>
<p>A quiet admission, fragile in its helplessness.</p>
<p>Yunho heard nothing, dead as he was to the world.</p>
<p>The prince only startled awake when he was carried off the couch by hands that were simultaneously alien and familiar. Gentle when they lowered him on his bed but cold and impersonal when they covered him in a blanket.</p>
<p>Yunho, as always weak and wanting when it came to Mingi, grabbed his guard by his suit sleeve when he moved to leave. He tugged on it, once, twice.</p>
<p>A moment of complete stillness, followed by Mingi gently disentangling Yunho’s fingers.</p>
<p>“Good night, your highness. The second guard will be in shortly.” </p>
<p>Yunho hid under the blankets before Mingi could finish his parting words. With an unwilling heart, he tracked the sound of footsteps that grew quieter with distance, a click of door locks clicking into place and then, at last, suffocating silence.</p>
<p>Yunho knew that no prince should cry over one man, a mere guard at that. He did so anyway, heaving through bitter tears.</p>
<p>Curious, he noted wryly, how the throne gave him everything but cost him his heart.</p>
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